Would you fly 5,000 miles to see Aberdeen?

Steve Harris, chief executive of VisitAberdeen, said that 34,000 visitors to Scotland last year were from China. “The Chinese language website will provide us with the opportunity to reach one of the wealthiest markets in the world, and promote Aberdeen as a leisure and business tourism destination,” he added.

“Forecasts suggest 500 million Chinese people will travel overseas in the next 15 years, and VisitAberdeen believes it is critical to promote the city as a leisure and business destination to the Chinese in their native language.”

The news has led some to wonder what Chinese visitors might make of the city, however.

“It’s a handsome city, with lovely public gardens, but it’s also slightly forbidding, without the charm of Edinburgh or the rich cultural life of Glasgow,” said Joanna Symons, Telegraph Travel's UK editor. “It’s a wealthy oil city, but there are also 20 or so charity shops in the town, a dearth of decent hotels and limited cultural attractions compared with other major British cities. The main attraction of Aberdeen is its proximity to castle and whiskey trails.”

Ed Peters, one of Telegraph Travel’s China experts, agreed that perhaps the city’s Whisky Trail is its best bet, with internationally recognised brands of single malts that “are so much more portable than haggis.”

“Just about every Chinese traveller carries a shopping list for pals who couldn’t make the trip,” he said, “and all Chinese travellers – given the prevalence of fakes at home – relish 100 per cent genuine designer labels.”

He said that, for China’s young nouveaux riches “travel is a 'been there, Instagrammed that' status symbol; for the lower-net-worth older generation, it’s a chance to get out and see what was once concealed beyond the bamboo curtain before they pop their flip-flops.”

Aberdeen needs to carve out a niche for itself though. “Mainlanders will admire its oil-infused affluence, but why go there? Chinese coach tours thunder for hours across Europe simply to get to Karl Marx’s birthplace in Trier, hop out for 15 minutes, then head back to where they started. Does Aberdeen have a similar draw?”

With castles a highlight of the new website, Peters had a final word of warning for Aberdeen’s tourist board.

“Chinese people do not like ghosts. Even jokey tales about ghosts. Oil paintings of long-dead relatives on the wall aren’t so popular either. Chinese travellers want Wi-Fi in the middle of the night, not wooo-oooo.”

"Chinese travellers – given the prevalence of fakes at home – relish 100 per cent genuine designer labels" (Photo: Getty)